Rules sought for Chinese drywall settlements

WASHINGTON — Homeowners'' attorneys are hoping to protect their clients by seeking rules in settlements over defective Chinese drywall, according to News Inferno.

Lawyers are asking a federal judge to put some rules in place on manufacturers'' settlement attempts with home builders, noting that builders and Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. (KPT) could potentially use settlement talks to persuade homeowners to agree to terms that would not be in their best interests, the article stated.

According to the article, the attorneys are hoping the judge will oversee the case to ensure broader disclosures by builders and KPT, such as settlement decisions and prior court decisions, in all homeowner communications.

According to court papers filed by the homeowners'' attorneys, increased disclosure is needed since they allege that settlement attempts are seeking to avert and bypass Judge Fallon''s rulings as the core for larger, nationwide remediation criterion, the article noted.